The coyote's menu ranges from rabbits, rats and other rodents to insects, reptiles, antelope and sheep as well as small dogs and cats / The Associated Press

Written by

Dick Martin

CentralOhio.com

One easy way is to take up coyote hunting. The big predators are growing more common yearly, and are beginning to prey on farm animals as well as wild ones.

Four men who hunt with dogs in Mercer, Auglaize, and Darke counties killed 84 coyotes last winter and earned the gratitude of many landowners. The four often get calls from farmers who have lost livestock. One farmer called after losing a 150-pound ewe who was killed by the hungry animals.

The four said they have had calls about coyotes killing sheep, goats, pigs, chickens, ducks, turkeys, dogs and cats. They also said there used to be an abundance of rabbits in their counties, but numbers have dwindled mostly because of coyotes, and noted that the up to 50-pound plus animals like to kill newborn fawns.

This summer would be a good time to start training a coyote dog or two and make ready to start reducing their numbers come fall. It’s a good way to combine lively sport with beneficial results.

• Readers who enjoy Laker Erie should make good use of a new publication by the ODNR. The 8.5-inch tall by 3.75-inch wide brochure unfolds to reveal a a map numbered with each access site, county by county from coast to coast.

The brochure should be useful to visitors from boaters to fishermen and bird watchers to nature lovers. It’s available at various sites along the coast or copies can be requested at 419-626-7980.

• A reader contacted me recently to say "I rarely send emails to anyone at the newspaper and I may be barking up the wrong tree, but I just wondered if you had noticed all the dying maple trees everywhere?

“We are all concerned about the ash tree blight and rightfully so, but maples of all sorts are also dying everywhere you look. The hard maples, red, scarlet, and sugars, seem to be taking the worst of it, but even Norways and striped maples are getting killed! Only the silvers seem to be immune.”

I haven’t noticed this, but perhaps others have. So, I’d like to hear from such readers, and especially foresters.

• The Ohio Department of Natural Resources is now accepting applications for grant funding assistance for local park projects through the state NatureWorks Grant Program.

Before the end of this year, ODNR will be awarding $3.9 million to local communities to assist in providing Ohioans with enhanced outdoor opportunities. NatureWorks funding is available to cities, villages, counties, townships, park districts and conservancy districts interested in receiving assistance with local park projects.

Grant applications can be found at ohiodnr.gov/realestate.

• It appears that an effort by the Division of Wildlife to raise nonresident hunting fees is dead in the water — at least for now. The Ohio Senate rejected the proposal that would have increased the cost of a nonresident hunting license from $125 to $149.

The proposal also included an increase on the cost of an either sex deer permit from $24 to $99. The Ohio House of Representatives had previously passed the proposal as part of Gov. John Kasich’s budget bill.

• The Division of Watercraft would like to remind boaters to put safety first when they boat along Ohio’s waterways The last several months, Ohioans have endured a frigid winter and a wet spring, so it’s important to dress for the water temperature, not the air temperature.

Tragically, 11 boaters have died in boating accidents so far this spring. Nine of those 11 boaters were not wearing life jackets.

Time is critical when an accident occurs, and there can be little time to struggle into a life jacket. It’s best to wear one — always.

Also, remember that Ohio law requires all children 10 and younger to wear life jackets on boats less than 18 feet long when the boat is underway.

Dick Martin is a retired Shelby biology teacher and author who has written an outdoor column for more than 20 years. He can be reached at richmart@neo.rr.com.